Hugh Keevins raises Lawrence Shankland to Celtic point as Rangers urged to reconsider stance for Hearts ace
Hugh Keevins has questioned whether Celtic would be interested in signing reported Rangers target Lawrence Shankland from Hearts.
The Gers have been strongly linked with Shankland this window as a result of the Scotland international’s superb form.
The Fourth Official reported on Friday (5 January) that Rangers are willing to pay what they consider a fair price, which is below the £3million mark Hearts are aiming for.
However, speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard [5 January, 06:58pm], Kenny Miller urged the Gers to alter that stance and pay what Hearts are supposedly holding out for.
“I think that’d be a fair price,” he said. “Hearts are in control of the situation, but three [million] would be fair.”
Keevins then added: “In the maddest city in the world, if Rangers have no intention of going for Shankland, would Celtic get opposition from their fans telling them ‘he’s a Rangers fan?’
“This is the moment in Lawrence Shankland’s career. He’s at an age where it’s now or never. The big move, whether in Scotland or elsewhere, won’t be there after now.”
Get the deal done
Any team in the Scottish Premiership would love to have a player of Shankland’s proven quality in their ranks – Celtic and Rangers among them.
The Gers will surely be able to land the 28-year-old should they truly want him, but it seems they are not prepared to go to the £3m mark.
Shankland is out of contract at the end of next season, so that is why the Light Blues are seemingly reluctant to pay too much.
At the same time, the club were prepared to splash out multi-millions on the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers and Co in the summer.
The difference is that you know Shankland will hit the ground running and score goals from the off – he guarantees that.
Celtic have themselves been linked with the prolific forward, and the Gers will not want to leave Shankland with a tough decision to make.
If the money is there, this is a deal Rangers have to get over the line this month.
In other Rangers news, Chris Jack has outlined what could be an “interesting” transfer development at Ibrox this month.